News

Are carrot straws the next big thing?

April 19, 2019

Bananas Smoothies & Frozen Yogurt is testing carrot straws for use in its smoothies and juices.

"As I'm sure everyone is well aware, plastic straws are one of the world's top polluters, damaging our national resources irreparably," Andrew Steinber, COO of the 30-unit chain's parent company, Villa Restaurant Group. "At Bananas Smoothies & Frozen Yogurt, we feel for the sea turtles and all our ocean creatures. As such, we wanted to begin thinking about an alternative to the simple plastic straw we use so often in smoothie and juice consumption."
 
Recent estimations using trash collected on U.S. coastlines during cleanups over five years found that there were nearly 7.5 million plastic straws lying around America's shorelines, according to the release. 

While many businesses have banned straws, Steinber said Bananas Smoothies & Frozen Yogurt wanted to explore alternative options and has created the first prototype for the carrot straw, a hollowed-out carrot that performs like a plastic straw but can be either eaten or composted after use.

Villa Restaurant Group has nearly 350 restaurants in malls, airports, casinos and other high-traffic locations.